Instapot Dog Food

 

Why I make dog food.

Even after we treated our 13 year old Schnauzer for parasites he was plagued with IBS type symptoms that wouldn’t go away. He dropped from 26lbs to 16lbs in about four months and was having accidents in the house regularly (unheard of for him). He suffered with incontinence, arthritis, hip dysplasia, and dementia. It was so sad to watch him struggle and decline so quickly. We didn’t think he was going to be with us much longer.

Out of desperation I started making his food. My only goal was to stop the diarrhea. Within a matter of days his diarrhea was gone. No more signs of blood in his stool either. Three months later the rest of his symptoms had greatly improved or had become no longer noticeable. As I publish this he is 15 years old and shows no signs of leaving us anytime soon.

While making more dog food in bigger pots over the stove is certainly possible with this recipe, I quickly found that using the Instapot was much more convenient for me. Doing it this way requires a lot less space on the cooktop and to store in my freezer. Plus it’s something I can walk away from and come back to as needed without leaving a burner on, food exposed, or my kitchen in a mess.

This can absolutely be done over the stove too. If you’re making food for a larger dog or multiple dogs, doing it over the stove means you can make more, store more, and/or make it less often.

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 1 hour

Total time: 2 hours

Yield: 3-4 quarts depending on optional add-ins

Ingredients

  • 3 lbs of ground turkey or 1 whole (bone-in) chicken

  • 2 cups oatmeal

  • 1 cup green lentils (optional, rotate with rice)

  • 1 cup brown rice (optional, rotate with lentils)

  • 6-8 cups of water (see notes)

  • 2 teaspoons of salt

  • 2” piece of kombu or 1 teaspoon kelp seaweed (optional)

Vegetable Add-ons (add 2-3)

  • 3 cups of frozen peas

  • 1 whole stalk of celery (3-4 cups) rough chopped

  • 1 32oz bag of frozen mixed vegetables

  • 3 cups cooked carrots, rough chopped

  • 1 can of pumpkin puree (optional)

  • 2 cups chopped parsley (optional)

    Dressing

  • 1/3-1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

  • 1/8-1/4 cup Bragg (raw) apple cider vinegar

  • 2 tablespoons of molasses (optional)

    Instructions

  • Add grains and/or lentils and salt to Instapot. Add 2 cups of water for every 1 cup of grain/lentils being used. Stir grains with water to avoid them sticking to the bottom of the Instapot.

    • Only choose 1-2 grain/lentils per recipe and rotate. Avoid using more than 3 cups of grain per recipe in order to keep the proper grain:meat ratio.

  • Add turkey or chicken. If using ground turkey, break it up a bit with a large spoon before closing the lid.

  • Using the manual setting on the Instapot, set the timer for 45 minutes if cooking ground turkey. If cooking a whole chicken set it to 90 minutes.

    • When cooking a whole chicken this way, I like to start the Instapot in the evening and leave it sealed overnight, even after it’s done. The Instapot has a magic way of breaking down the chicken bones, making them super soft. This means that the next day when you remove the bones from the chicken, there are very few to retrieve and if you miss any they will not choke your dog. Even the heaviest bones will snap like a twig.

  • Remove the lid and allow to cool enough to safely remove the bones with tongs or by hand if using a chicken. If using turkey, break up the ground meat further and stir everything well to combine.

  • If removing the Instapot lid immediately following the timer going off, add any frozen vegetables you’re using at this time. Frozen peas and mixed vegetables are par-cooked before frozen. The residual heat will finish the cooking process and cool down the dog food at the same time, making it easier to handle.

    • If using canned pumpkin add this after adding any frozen vegetables. It will further cool the dog food down.

  • If adding carrots, chop and cook these separately over medium heat with a little water added to the pan. Dogs cannot digest raw carrots and adding the carrots to the Instapot to cook with the grain and meat will turn them to mush. Texture is better for their teeth.

  • When the dog food has cooled down, add in your fresh vegetables and herbs if using.

  • In a small jar with a lid shake together the olive oil, ACV, and molasses with a heavy pinch of salt. Pour over dog food and stir to combine.

  • If required, move the Instapot vessel to the fridge and cool dog food down completely before dividing it up into 1 quart jars. Store all but one container in the freezer until ready to use. Store what’s currently in use in the fridge.

Notes:

For reference, I give my 25lb Schnauzer a little over 1 cup of this food twice a day. This recipe generally yields 4 quarts which will last me about a 10 days.